Swedish esports organisation Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP) has teamed up with English Premier League football club Leeds United. 

The partnership will cover FIFA esports and the ePremier League. Leeds was promoted from the EFL Championship to the Premier League last season, so this will be the first time the club is eligible to be represented in the ePremier League.

Discussing the collaboration Ninjas in Pyjamas CEO, Hicham Chahine, said:

“This partnership with Leeds is an exciting milestone for Ninjas in Pyjamas. Our iconic clubs share similar histories of transformation and core values when fighting our way back to the top of our sports.

“We looked for a Premier club with an ownership that was ready to go deep into esports — with the ambition of making an impact, integrating efforts on sports performance, fan activation and commercialisation. We are very thrilled about this FIFA journey together. Keep your eyes open for more exciting announcements in the upcoming weeks.”

While Leeds United Executive Director, Paul Bell, added:

“Promotion to the Premier League has given the club some amazing opportunities so far, with involvement in the ePremier League the latest chance for the club to grow and impress.

“Just as Marcelo [Bielsa] has done with the men’s first team, we intend on making our presence in the league known and being competitive straight away. Creating a partnership with NiP will give us a fantastic foundation to do so. Bring it on.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It seems likely that 2020/21 will be looked back on as a pivotal moment in the relationship between football and esports. With EA Sports FIFA leagues growing all around the world, and more and more football clubs partnering with established esports organisations, efootball is emerging as a serious business in its own right. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS is the focus of a new BBC Three produced documentary series. 

Narrated by Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, 28 Days Later, Sunshine), the five-part series follows EXCEL ESPORTS at their Twickenham training facility, and at the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) in Berlin during the 2019 Spring Split. 

Commenting on the series, Cillian Murphy said:

“My sons love gaming. When I showed them the trailer for this, they said I had to do it. Being involved in Fight For First has been a great experience and there is so much more to professional gaming than I ever thought. It has opened up a whole new world to me and this series provides a proper insight into a fascinating, global industry.”

While Co-Founder and Chief Gaming Officer at EXCEL ESPORTS, Kieran Holmes-Darby, explained:

“This five-part series showcases our attempts to reach the League of Legends European Championship play-offs for the first time in our history and is a completely unique insight into EXCEL ESPORTS and what goes on behind the scenes of a major esports organisation. 

“At EXCEL, whilst competing at the elite level, we pride ourselves on always striving to be better, and the series demonstrates how we practise, prepare and play. Not only will it offer our fans a deeper look into what we do, but it will also offer people who are completely new to esports a fascinating perspective of our exciting industry.”

And, Controller at BBC Three, Fiona Campbell, added:

“The BBC Three in-house documentary team have created a fascinating series and true insight into the world’s fastest growing sport – and one that has a huge following and importance to our audience. 

“We’re excited to be the first UK broadcaster to follow an esports team through a global esports competition, taking viewers behind the scenes as the teenage team members juggle competing on a world stage with their lives at home.”

Fight For First: EXCEL ESPORTS is a 5 x 30 production made by the BBC Three in-house team. It was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three, produced and directed by Simon Rawles. The Executive Producers are James Corbin and Jo Smith for BBC Three.

AYO.NEWS says:

Produced by the BBC, narrated by Cillian Murphy, and starring the EXCEL crew? This should be a fascinating glimpse into one of the most competitive organisations in esports, and we’re sure it will open a lot of peoples’ eyes to just how big an industry esports, and video gaming in general, now is. 

Last month, EXCEL ESPORTS underwent a major pivot, totally updating its brand and revealing ambitious new plans to take the organisation to an entirely new level. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

PUBG Corporation has officially merged with its parent company, Krafron, Inc., and will now be operating as PUBG Studio. 

According to an official statement, the developer of global hit PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS will continue to support PUBG and PUBG MOBILE in “select countries”, and will be concentrating on expanding the PUBG franchise into esports and other entertainment mediums. 

South Korea-based Krafton has also merged two of its other subsidiaries, PNIX, Inc. (Archery King), and Delusion Studio, Inc., (Castle Burn), into a new company called Rising Wings. 

Krafton’s independent studio system now includes PUBG Studio, Rising Wings, Striking Distance Studios, and Bluehole Studios. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s been quite a year for PUBG Corporation, with its battle royale title remaining hugely popular, and its mobile version doing especially well, seeing several new leagues formed. However, the Indian government’s decision to ban PUBG MOBILE in September, as part of its escalating dispute with China, hit the company hard. 

We doubt very much that the restructuring and renaming of PUBG Corporation to PUBG Studio will have any noticeable effect for players in the short term, as it’s probably mainly related to Krafton’s upcoming listing on the Korea Exchange (KRX) – which could value the company at a record $26B USD. However, it will be interesting to see how the franchise expands regarding esports, and which other entertainment mediums it enters, in the longer term.

As previously reported, in November Krafton announced a partnership with Microsoft, which will see it deploy its products, including PUBG and PUBG Mobile, using the Azure cloud computing service. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Kuwaiti telecommunications provider Zain Group has launched a new esports brand, Zain Esports. 

Zain Esports kicked things off yesterday with the Middle Eastern Challenge, a FIFA tournament run in partnership with Electronic Arts. With the help of Australian esports agency eGen, the company has enlisted 2018 FIFA eWorld champions and Saudi national Mossad “Msdossary” Aldossary to help promote the tournament. 

Qualifying rounds started yesterday, 1 December, and will run through to 5 December, with playoffs and finals taking place from 8 – 9 December, and 15 – 16 December respectively. 

Following the inaugural Middle Eastern Challenge, Zain Esports plans to host “multiple flagship and community events” over the coming year, offering both cash and merchandise prizes. 

Discussing the launch of Zain Esports, Group Chief Investment and Digital Officer, Malek Hammoud, said:

“We are extremely excited with the launch of Zain esports, which marks a significant achievement in Zain’s diversification strategy and investment outside of areas related strictly to telco. This initiative meets a number of different goals for Zain, including youth development, enriching the brand, fostering innovation and digital opportunities on our 4G, 5G and Fiber networks, and creating shareholder value.

“We have every expectation that Zain esports is going to develop into a regional and international gaming powerhouse, and we are highly pleased and motivated to be working with recognized gaming partners and developers.”

The initiative is designed to help Zain Group tap younger audiences, with the company saying it has seen a 300% increase in gaming-related data usage since February 2020, across its 4G, 5G, and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) services. 

Zain Group serves 48.9M active telecoms customers across the Middle East and Africa, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan. It also has a 15.5% stake in INWI in Morocco. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While there’s no denying the Middle East and North Africa are underserved when it comes to esports, the region has a lot of promise, with a rapidly growing gaming community, especially in mobile titles. 

Just last month, we reported that Jordanian organisation FATE Esports was set to be the first in the region to launch a fan engagement app via Blocksport. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

GINX Esports TV has entered a content partnership with esports talk show network Preediction. 

Under the agreement, Preediction’s talk shows, which cover titles including Call of Duty, DOTA 2, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros., will be broadcast on GINX, with shows like Esports Talk, Bananaslamjaron and the Codcast available from this month. 

Commenting on the partnership Marketing and Content Director at GINX Esports TV, Solenne Lagrange, said:

“GINX TV is no stranger to producing and distributing high quality content for gaming enthusiasts around the world. With Preediction, we have found a natural partner. Their wide array of talk shows naturally complements our already extensive line-up of news, event-coverage, guides and various shows dedicated to esports lifestyle.”

While CEO and Founder of Preediction, Aron Glatzer, added:

“GINX Esports TV’s global reach and well-regarded programming line-up is a perfect partner for Preediction to continue expanding its esports & gaming audience into new verticals.”

The collaboration will also see GINX and Preediction working together to promote their offerings to networks and brands across the UK and Europe. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Swedish esports platform Challengermode has made a key leadership hire and promotion, following substantial growth and a $12M investment round. 

Dan-Alp Lindberg has been appointed Chief Financial Officer, while Philip Hübner has been promoted to Chief Business Development Officer. 

Hübner joined Challengermode in 2017 as Head of Business Development, and had previously been responsible for onboarding the company’s very first partners, in addition to devising its partnerships and business strategy. He initially got involved in esports as a competitive DOTA player, and went on to work in a variety of roles, from marketing and communications, to product management. 

Regarding his new role, Hübner said:

“I’ve always been keen to help grow esports as an industry, even back when I was a competitor – so I am excited to be bringing that accumulated experience to my new role as CBDO.

“For all its recent success, the esports industry is still relatively young, and is still in a process of change. While sponsorships and big event tournaments will continue to be important, our mission is to create new partnerships and new opportunities that will drive growth in the grassroots level of esports in the years to come.”

As Chief Financial Officer, Lindberg will be responsible for the company’s revenue growth and profitability, while managing risks and compliance. He has more than fifteen years of management experience at both large companies and scale-ups, including roles at IKEA and creative agency and entertainment company B-Reel. 

Looking ahead, Lindberg commented:

“I am super excited to step into the role of CFO at Challengermode and look forward to continuing to roll out our esports platform internationally. I truly believe the team and this platform has incredible potential to accelerate the growth of esports, harness the space’s commercial potential, facilitate new business models and establish new revenue streams along the way.”

In August, Challengermode secured $12M USD in a funding round led by eWTP Innovation Fund, Alibaba’s global investment division.

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite all the doom and gloom we’ve got used to in the age of COVID, it’s fantastic to see the esports and video gaming sector still powering ahead, attracting investment, and recruiting and promoting talent. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.